Electric Powertrain Topology Analysis and Design for Heavy-Duty Trucks

Frans J. R. Verbruggen, Emilia Silvas and Theo Hofman
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Frans J. R. Verbruggen: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Emilia Silvas: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Theo Hofman: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 10, 1-30

Abstract: Powertrain system design optimization is an unexplored territory for battery electric trucks, which only recently have been seen as a feasible solution for sustainable road transport. To investigate the potential of these vehicles, in this paper, a variety of new battery electric powertrain topologies for heavy-duty trucks is studied. Thereby, topological design considerations are analyzed related to having: (a) a central or distributed drive system (individually-driven wheels); (b) a single or a multi-speed gearbox; and finally, (c) a single or multiple electric machines. For reasons of comparison, each concurrent powertrain topology is optimized using a bilevel optimization framework, incorporating both powertrain components and control design. The results show that the combined choice of powertrain topology and number of gears in the gearbox can result in a 5.6% total-cost-of-ownership variation of the vehicle and can, significantly, influence the optimal sizing of the electric machine(s). The lowest total-cost-of-ownership is achieved by a distributed topology with two electric machines and two two-speed gearboxes. Furthermore, results show that the largest average reduction in total-cost-of-ownership is achieved by choosing a distributed drive over a central drive topology (−1.0%); followed by using a two-speed gearbox over a single speed (−0.6%); and lastly, by using two electric machines over using one for the central drive topologies (−0.3%).

Keywords: powertrains; optimization; electric vehicles; topology design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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